Day 3: Cayo Santa Maria / Santa Clara / Havana
- Breakfast at the hotel; check out, depart for Havana
- Stop in Santa Clara for an exchange with the last remaining Piquetes band, the Piquete Melodías Antilanas
- Stop for light lunch at Aguadads de Pasajeros before continuing to Havana
- 5:00 PM Check in at Hotel Melia Cohiba
- 7:30 PM Dinner at Mediterraneo Restaurant inside the Hotel Melia Cohiba
After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and headed to Santa Clara, on our way to Havana. Here are a few shots of the countryside on the way to Santa Clara.
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| Apartments in Caibarien |
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| Santa Clara |
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| Santa Clara |
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| Santa Clara train station |
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| Santa Clara resident giving the bus driver directions |
Eventually, we arrived at the central square of Santa Clara, where we had been a couple of days ago. This time we stopped at the Casa de la Cultura to see a performance by "Piquete Melodias Antillanas", which is the last remaining Piquetes band. Piquites is a form of street music that is somewhere between a march and a waltz. You can see a video of one of their performances at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gda8W7RksMchttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gda8W7RksMc. (The live performance was more exciting than the video).
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| In front of the Casa de la Cultura |
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| Stairwell inside the Casa de la Cultura |
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| The band getting ready. People in the foreground are dancers. |
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| The band in action |
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| The dancers begin by promenading around |
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| Then they start actually dancing |
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| A horn solo |
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| Now the audience gets into the act |
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| Fortunately, I'm not a jealous man |
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| The performers pose for a picture |
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| A view from the second floor |
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| Goat rides for the kids |
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| A view of the main square |
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| Another view of the square |
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| More action from the goat cart |
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| Not sure if he is a government employee |
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| Buildings facing the square |
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| Those are bullet holes left over from the revolution |
We then got back in the bus and headed out of Santa Clara, to Havana.
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| In the streets of Santa Clara |
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| More from Santa Clara |
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| On the outskirts of Santa Clara |
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| A final drive by the Che Guevara memorial |
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| On the way to Havana--a 1955 or 1956 Buick wagon |
There was virtually nothing on the road between Santa Clara and Havana, except for a few propaganda billboards and a couple of roadside restaurant/gift shops. We stopped at one of the restaurants for lunch.
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| In the (government) restaurant |
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| I am pleased to note that my birthday is a holiday in Cuba. Viva 26 Julio! |
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| Buying a TuKola for the road |
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| More communist cats |
There was a small gift shop next to the restaurant, where I encountered one of the most incredible pieces of packaging I have ever seen. Enjoy reading it:
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| Baskerball be bery bery good |
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| On the road to Havana |
After about 3 hours, we approached the eastern outskirts of Havana.
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| Stadium built for the 1990 Pan American Games |
And now a word about the geography of Havana. The main part of Havana is divided into three parts. Old Havana consists mostly of colonial buildings in various states of restoration. Central Havana is an older (not as old as Old Havana) residential and commercial area. Vedado (Spanish for "forbidden" is a more upscale, modern area. Our hotel was in Vedado.
We entered Havana on Via Monumental, and entered the main part of the city through a tunnel that runs under the harbor.
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| Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabana (see map) |
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| Castle of los Tres Reyes del Morro (see map) |
We then drove along the Malacon to our hotel.
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| Part of Central Havana from the Malecon. |
Like the hotel the previous two nights, the Melia Cohiba was not what you would call "typically Cuban". Once we were inside the hotel, we could have been in any business hotel in the world. However, unlike the Melia Las Dunas, we could step out the front door and be in the middle of Cuban society.
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| The Melia Cohiba, our home in Havana |
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| In the lobby of the Melia Cohiba |
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| Our room at the Melia Cohiba |
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| The view from our room |
After settling into our room, Brenda took her customary post-arrival nap, and I took my customary post-arrival walk around the city, in this case the Vedado area.
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| 1953 (I think) Chevy in front of the hotel |
Vedado is a well-to-do part of Havana, and most of the buildings are in pretty good shape on the outside. A lot of the buildings were mansions before the revolution, and have been either converted to government buildings, or serve as housing for multiple families. The next few pictures show some of the architecture in Vedado.
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| Avenida Paseo, a boulevard near our hotel |
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| A soccer match in an empty pool |
I encountered lots of people while walking in the streets, and they all seemed to be enjoying themselves. Of course, this was one of the better neighborhoods in Havana.
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| A former mansion converted into a government building |
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| Cuban Art Deco |
After about a mile of walking, I came upon
Beth Shalom Synagogue. I knew of its existence and location, but I was expecting to find an old, unused building, badly in need of renovation. What I saw from the outside surprised me.
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| Beth Shalom Synagogue |
It was Sunday afternoon at about 5:00, and I expected the building to be closed, but I saw a few people walk in. So, I figured I'd go in and see if I could take a peek. Being not particularly observant, I didn't realize that it was the Jewish holiday of Purim, and I walked into a Purim carnival. Not exactly what I expected to see in Havana!
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| Plaque in the Beth Shalom lobby |
After my visit to Beth Shalom, I headed back to the hotel, along some of the main streets in Vedado. Note the complete lack of any advertising signs.
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| Onions and garlic for sale |
Dinner that night was with the group at a Mediterranean restaurant in the hotel, free mojitos included. After dinner Brenda and I walked along the Malecon and back to the hotel through a residential district. Not much action (or street lighting) in that part of Havana after dark, but we (or at least I) felt perfectly safe.
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| Along the Malecon |
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| Nightlife in a residential area |
Next: Day 4 --
Old Havana and a Baseball Game
